Transcript PowerPoint

Moses
The Servant
of God
Ex 2: Chosen
by God from
the Beginning
Note lack of Names
of People in Ex 2
• This story is about God’s
redemption of His people
• Humans were involved in critical parts of this
salvation, but not the prime movers
• God wants generations to come to understand
that redemption is all of God
– Individual people play a part by faith
– God did it because He is faithful and loves His
people – that’s still true today!
In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so
loved us, we also ought to love one another.
(1 John 4:10-11)
Moses’ Family
• Amram was his Dad (Ex 6:20)
• Jochebed was his Mom
• Miriam was the oldest child
– Old enough to deal with Pharaoh’s
daughter, so probably a teenager
when Moses was born
• Aaron was 3 years older than Moses (7:7)
• They were all Godly Israelites
God made sure Moses grew up
in the right family
Amram & Jochebed
were some of the few
faithful Israelites
• Many Israelites had turned to idols (Josh 24:14)
• Many Israelites responded poorly when God began
to deliver them
• Many Israelites wanted to return to Egypt when they
were tested in the wilderness
• Amram & Jochebed were motivated by faith (Heb 11)
• Miriam, Aaron & Moses were all faithful (Micah 6:4)
Even so then, at this present time
there is a remnant according to the
election of grace. (Rom 11:5)
Amram & Jochebed lived by faith
Hebrews 11:23
23 By faith Moses, when he was
born, was hidden three months by
his parents, because they saw he
was a beautiful child; and they were
not afraid of the king's command.
Faith overcomes our fears
Faith Overcomes Fears
• Afraid to tell others about Jesus or about our
involvement in religion
• Afraid to commit to Jesus Christ & be baptized
because we fear we might fail
• Afraid to help a friend because we might make
mistakes or get criticized
• Afraid to get involved in CYC or
our ecclesia because we might
get criticized for the work we do
Moses grew up with Godly siblings
Micah 6:3-4
3 "O My people, what have I done to
you? And how have I wearied you?
Testify against Me.
4 For I brought you up from the land of
Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of
bondage; And I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
They were all leaders in Israel!
Aaron will become a faithful High Priest
• S
Miriam would be about 95 now
Exodus 15:19-21
19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and
his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the
waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went
on dry land in the midst of the sea.
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took
the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after
her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam
answered them:
"Sing to the Lord,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!“
Miriam continued to faithfully lead
the sisters into her old age
Moses’
Family
4 generations
from Jacob
to Moses
Amram married his
aunt! She may have
been younger than him!
1
2
3
4
12-15 years older
than Moses
3 years older
than Moses
The 430 and 400 years
430 years from the Promise to the Law (Gal 3:17)
400 years Abraham’s descendants to be sojourners (Gen 15:13)
There were only about 59
years from the death of
Joseph till the birth of Moses
Something Special about Moses
Exodus 2:1-3
1 And a man of the house of Levi went and
took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the
woman conceived and bore a son. And
when she saw that he was a beautiful child,
she hid him three months.
Acts 7:20
20 At this time Moses was born, and was
well pleasing to God; and he was brought
up in his father's house for three months.
Somehow Jochebed knew Moses was
special to God – maybe angelic visitation
Jochebed’s plan
to save Moses
• At 3 months, she couldn’t hide a
crying baby boy any longer
• She may have had inside information
that Pharaoh’s daughter would like to have a child
– She may have been bathing in the Nile as part of a
ritual asking the fertility god Osiris to give her a child
– Pharaoh came to the water each morning (Ex 8:20)
• She built an “ark” (like Noah’s), stuck it in the
reeds where she knew Pharaoh’s daughter would
come to bathe
• Then she waited and prayed – faith in action!
Living by faith involves us doing our part,
then trusting God to do the impossible
Amram & Jochebed were not afraid
Hebrews 11:23
23 By faith Moses, when he was born,
was hidden three months by his parents,
because they saw he was a beautiful
child; and they were not afraid of the
king's command.
Faith will motivate us to act for God
and His family, and not be afraid of
the consequences that might come to us
God controlled Moses’ education
Acts 7:17-22
17 "But when the time of the promise drew near
which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew
and multiplied in Egypt 18 till another king arose
who did not know Joseph. 19 This man dealt
treacherously with our people, and oppressed our
forefathers, making them expose their babies, so
that they might not live. 20 At this time Moses was
born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was
brought up in his father's house for three months.
21 But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter
took him away and brought him up as her own
son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and
deeds.
Moses was well educated & accomplished!
Moses’
Education
• Jochebed would try to teach
Moses all about Yahweh & the
promises He made to Abraham
– Imagine the pressure & stress on Amram &
Jochebed to teach Moses as much as possible
before they turn him over to Pharaoh’s daughter
• Egyptians would have educated Moses in the
history of Egypt, all about Egyptian gods, and
trained him to be a ruler in Egypt.
Train a child in the way he should go, and when
he is old he will not turn from it. (Prov 22:6)
Giving up our
Children for God
• Abraham willing to offer up Isaac
• Isaac & Rebekah willing to send
Jacob back to Laban
• Hannah willing to give Samuel to Eli
• Amram & Jochebed willing to put Moses in
the basket by the reeds, then willing to turn
Moses over to Pharaoh’s daughter to raise
him till 40 years old
Faith completely trusts God to do His
part, when we have done our part too!
We have to do
our part, but
it’s God’s Election
work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; for it
is God who works in you both
to will and to do for His good
pleasure. Phil 2:12-13
• Amram & Jochebed taught
Moses about Yahweh, God
of Israel & His promises to Abraham
• They prayed for Moses, that God would grant him
to come to know Yahweh and choose His ways
• God chose Moses and raised him up for the
purpose of declaring God’s glory to the nations and
delivering His people from slavery in Egypt
God can’t afford to leave His
family up to our selection & effort
It’s God’s election
Romans 9:14-18
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at
all! 15 For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire
or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For the Scripture
says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very
purpose, that I might display my power in you and
that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to
have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to
harden.
Good to keep in mind!
Pray for God’s mercy on your family!
Moses makes his choice!
Acts 7:23-29
23 "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his
heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And
seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged
him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25
For he supposed that his brethren would have understood
that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not
understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of
them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them,
saying, 'Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one
another?' 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him
away, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian
yesterday?' 29 Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became
a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
He must have been shocked & frustrated
that his own people didn’t understand
Moses grows up &
decides for himself
• “when Moses was grown” (v.11)
is when he is about 40 years old
• Moses has to choose for himself
which God he would serve
• He assumed that the Israelites would be aware of
his lineage & understand God would use Moses to
deliver Israel from Egypt (Acts 7)
• Amram & Jochebed must have instilled in Moses
the belief that God would visit His people and take
them back to Canaan as He had promised
Abraham (Gen 15:12-16)
Pray for help!
Pray for your family!
God had said it would be 400 years
Genesis 15:12-16
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep
sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and
great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to
Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants
will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and
will serve them, and they will afflict them four
hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom
they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come
out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you,
you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be
buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth
generation they shall return here, for the
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
It’s hard for us to know God’s timetable!
God Provides the Deliverer
• God used Joseph’s brothers to
sell Joseph to Egypt
• God used a famine to direct Jacob to Egypt
• God blessed the Israelites with large families &
the community grew
• God raised up Pharaohs who feared the growth
of the Israelites
• God tested & motivated the Israelites by
Pharaoh’s decree to kill the Jewish boys
• God raised up Moses to deliver His people
The whole plan was all of God!
He was in control all the time
& He still is today!
Living by Faith
(Heb 11:23-27)
• Aram & Jochebed
– Hid Moses 3 months
– Not afraid of the king’s command (He could have killed them!)
• Moses: based on parents’ teaching & promise to Abraham!
– refused to be called the son Pharaoh’s daughter
– Chose to suffer affliction with God’s people, rather than enjoy the
pleasures of sin
– Considered abuse suffered for the Christ (RSV) greater riches than
the treasures in Egypt – he looked to the reward
– He left Egypt, not afraid of the King’s anger – He endured as
seeing Him who is invisible
– He kept the Passover & sprinkling of blood – lest he who
destroyed the firstborn should touch them
Without faith it is impossible
to please Him (Heb 11:6)
Living by Faith today
• Believing & trusting that
everything God brings into your
life is right for you, and that He is treating you
as His children – training us for life in His family
forever
• Be willing to suffer abuse for Christ – Tell people
at school, work & around your home that you
are a follower of Jesus Christ. Then be willing
to endure whatever abuse might follow.
Trust in the
Lord with all
your heart
Moses was Discouraged
• He was raised to believe that he was
the deliverer
• He assumed the Israelite community
would understand he was their deliverer
• He made the choice to follow Yahweh, and refuse
the pleasures of Egypt
• He killed an Egyptian and thought the Israelite
community would rally behind him
• Instead, the Israelites refused him and challenged
him “who made you a prince and judge over us?”
When Moses tried to save Israel his way,
it ended in trouble – like Joseph!
Moses in Midian (v.15)
• Fled to Midian for safety & time
to think
• Linked up with Reuel, a priest
• Married Zipporah & had Gershom
• 40 years went by:
– A new Pharaoh took over Egypt
– The Israelite community grew larger
– The bondage of slavery grew worse & the people
cried to God for help!
• God heard their cry & remembered His promise
to Abraham
God is faithful &
remembers. He’s just
on a different timetable.
2
Why flee to Midian?
• S
G
Just out of
Egyptian
control
2
• S
G
Jethro was probably
descended from
Abraham & Keturah
Zipporah’s
Family
They may have
worshipped the
God of Abraham
Moses
Eliezer
Jethro
(or Reuel)
Zipporah
Unknown
Hobab
Gershom
The Family of the Rechabites
• S
G
Some were
still faithful in
Jeremiah 35
Reuel: Priest of Midian
• Reuel is probably his name:
means “friend of God”
• He is also called Jethro, which is probably a title
meaning “His Excellence”
• Descended from Abraham & Zipporah (Gen 25:1-4)
• He brought Zipporah & 2 sons to Moses at Mt Sinai (Ex
18:1-12)
• He acknowledged that Yahweh was greater than all
gods (18:11)
• His descendents became known as Kenites and were
included in the nation of Israel (Jud 1:16)
• Some of his descendents were the Rechabites, who
stood as solid reminders to Israel of faithful service to
their father (Jer 35)
God connected Moses to the right people!
Consider the Involvement
of God’s Angels!
• Designed Moses to be born to
Godly parents and older brother and sister
• Lined up Miriam to work for Pharaoh’s daughter
• Influenced Pharaoh’s daughter to want a child
• Designed events to Jochebed could nurse & raise
Moses
• Provided wages for Jochebed to nurse Moses
• Watched over Moses in Pharaoh’s house
• Directed Moses to Reuel in Midian
Now to him who by the power at work within
us is able to do far more abundantly than all
that we ask or think (Eph 3:20 RSV)
Lessons from Today
• Salvation is all of God! Appreciate His
kindness and thank Him every day
• God organizes our families and puts us in
the right one – trust Him and work with
Him
• Choose for yourself – choose to serve
God – even if you have to suffer for
Christ
• Do your part – work for God every day –
but recognize that God is at work in us to
do what is impossible for us to
2
• S
G
2
• S
G
W
2
17
!
2
• S
G
Names of Moses
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ex 2, Acts 7 Ruler, judge, deliverer
Psa 99 Priest
Ex 33 Mediator
Isa 63 Shepherd
Deut 34 Prophet
Deut 33 Law giver
Man of God
Friend of God
Servant of God
G
Lessons from Today
• Even